1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ski game machine or a ski simulator. More particularly, it relates to a ski simulator by which skiing motions suitable to practice downhill competitions and play a ski game by putting an operator's feet on skis can be enabled.
2. Background of the Invention
Various kinds of game machines or simulators (hereinafter, they are called simply as game machines) by which operators can experience skiing in virtual reality have been proposed. For example, on the game machine, a ski course and a condition where a skier traverses a ski course like a car driving race can be displayed by moving imitation skis provided in front of a display device side by side.
Such game machines are more useful for beginners of skiing or persons who want to ski on an unexperienced course for a normal skier like a course of downhill competition. Therefore, there is a demand to experience of skiing in virtual reality close to reality as much as possible.
As described above, when the skier's position on a ski course is only arithmetized from the direction of the skis like a steering direction for a car driving race and the condition where the skier moves to the position is only displayed on the display screen, the player can not gain an experience of the condition peculiar to skiing. For instance, a track on a snow surface after the skis are sliding, i.e., a spur, is one of the situations peculiar to skiing. A condition of left and right legs which varies according to an unevenness or an inclined angle on a snow surface of the course is also one of the motions peculiar to skiing. Further, reaction (kick-back) from the snow surface to the skis depending on a direction of the skis or an inclined angle of the ski's edges becomes a necessity for a skier who controls the skis to gain an experience in virtual reality.
However, there is no conventional game machine by which the player can gain an experience with respect to the above-described points.
Secondly, in a case of a game machine for playing a car driving race, a driving signal is given to a driving means so that kick-backs generated when the player turns the wheels sharply or vibrations to a handle or a car body depending on a road condition give players realism.
However, it is not general to give the player a drive to support the game progression. In the above-described ski game machine or ski simulator, it is desired to help improving their techniques by providing a means for supporting beginners or players who will slide a difficult course for the first time.
In the conventional game machine, there is a problem to lose virtual realism because the game progression is reset in general at the time the player is out of the ski course or bumps against an obstacle, the displayed picture is varied to a normal direction quite apart from the player's operation, and the condition of the skier, i.e., the player, is reset, thereby the player being apart from the game program for a while.
Thirdly, a ski game machine called "Alpine racer" has been made public as a ski simulating game machine from Namco Ltd., a game machine producer in Japan. In the game machine, a player puts his or her feet on steps imitating skis which can be swung side by side and moves their feet side by side by himself or herself to control a direction of the skis as watching the video image picture on a skiing course displayed on a large screen in front of him or her.
A ski simulator produced by Timber Jack Co. in Sweden has a structure in which a rotary axis of the steps imitating skis is inclined.
In the above described ski game machine produced by Namco Ltd., the steps for the player's feet can swing side by side around the front-centered rotary axis extending to a perpendicular direction. In the ski game machine, the steps for the player's feet rotate around the same rotary shaft when the player swings his or her feet side by side. Therefore, it is impossible to provide a difference between front and back of the skier's legs peculiar to an actual skiing motion, such as when the inside foot in a turning direction is positioned forward. Further, the rotary axis of the steps for the player's feet is positioned in the perpendicular direction, the left and right feet only swing in a horizontal direction. Therefore, it is also impossible to provide a difference between up and down of the left and right feet peculiar to an actual skiing motion, such as when the inside foot in a turning direction is positioned upward, such as an actual skiing motion.
On the other hand, in the ski simulator produced by Timber Jack Co. in Sweden having the similar mechanism of Namco, Ltd. but with the inclined rotary axis of the steps, a difference between up and down of left and right feet with respect to a perpendicular direction can be provided when the player swings his or her feet side by side. However, the surfaces contacted to the left and right feet are on the same plane unless operating to get up on his or her edges by employing an edging mechanism, which is provided separately. Therefore, there is no difference between up and down of left and right feet with respect to the contacted surfaces.
In the case of the game machine produced by Namco Ltd., a normal line of the contacted surfaces of the left and right feet basically extends to a perpendicular direction. In the case of the game machine produced by Timber Jack Co., the normal line of the contacted surfaces of the left and right feet is extending to the outside from the center of the displayed screen. Therefore, the operator takes up the stance for skiing that impairs reality.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game machine for solving the above-described conventional problems by which spurs of the skis are traced on a course of the snow surface displayed on the display device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a game machine by which a conditions of player's feet varying according to an unevenness or an angle of the snow surface can be displayed.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a game machine by which virtual kick back from a snow surface to skis can be given to a player.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a function for giving a player something to support his or her technique for skiing to solve the above-described problems.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a game machine in which when a player is out of a skiing course or bumps against an obstacle, a game can be compulsorily returned to a normal condition or the previous condition before the player lost the control, and the player is not from the game progression by compulsorily guiding the player.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a ski simulator to make it possible to mechanically reproduce a difference of front-back and up-down between an outer foot and an inner foot while a player maintains control in a turn, in order to have the player shift his or her weight from the outer foot to the inner foot when parallel skiing, and therefore, the player can easily change his or her left and right feet as if he or she walks.